Coast Guard Plane Makes Emergency Landing

CLEARWATER, FL - A U.S. Coast Guard’s flight crew is getting the credit for averting a potential disaster Monday by making the decision to make an emergency landing at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.

The C-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Clearwater landed without incident at 3:03 p.m., an email from the coast guard stated. The emergency landing was prompted when a member of the crew noticed a vibrating sound coming from one of the plane’s engines.

The crew made the determination to land using only three engines at 2:50 p.m. and contacted PIE air traffic control for assistance, the agency said.

“We conducted emergency landing procedures out of precaution,” Lt. J.G. Jeffery Henkel, the co-pilot of the aircraft, was quoted in the email as saying. “Quick thinking by a well trained crew made a scary situation safe and routine.”

The C-130 Hercules is considered the backbone of the Coast Guard’s air fleet, the agency says on its website.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard